Business leaders in South Africa are pushing for a major shift in how the country frames its economic priorities, warning that water insecurity, energy instability and climate risks now pose a direct threat to growth, competitiveness and social stability.
Ahead of the State of the Nation Address and the upcoming Africa’s Green Economy Summit, the National Business Initiative (NBI) has called on the government to move beyond planning and accelerate implementation through what it describes as a structured national “delivery compact.”
NBI CEO Shameela Soobramoney said the country’s water, energy and climate challenges should no longer be treated as separate environmental issues but as a single systemic economic threat. According to the organisation, water shortages disrupt supply chains, electricity instability undermines productivity, and climate-related disasters create mounting fiscal pressures, together raising costs and constraining growth.
The business coalition is urging policymakers to dismantle the long-standing perception that environmental priorities conflict with economic development. Instead, it argues that policy certainty, coordinated implementation and clearer strategic direction are needed to turn existing plans into bankable projects capable of attracting investment.
Central to the proposal is a national partnership model built on shared data, clearer accountability and joint implementation between government and the private sector. The NBI believes a clear signal from the State of the Nation Address could strengthen domestic business confidence while shaping investment discussions at the upcoming summit.
On energy, the organisation stressed that South Africa’s transition to renewables must be both ambitious and pragmatic. While accelerating renewable energy expansion is essential, maintaining existing generation capacity in the near term will be necessary to preserve energy reliability and protect economic stability during the transition.
The NBI also outlined several actions it considers critical for strengthening South Africa’s competitiveness in the emerging green economy. These include establishing an independent national transmission company, advancing a competitive electricity market, setting clear renewable energy targets and leveraging the country’s mineral and industrial base to develop local manufacturing capacity in electric vehicles and related components.
Beyond infrastructure and policy reform, the organisation emphasised that effective service delivery remains fundamental to economic stability and public trust. Failure to deliver basic services, it warned, not only undermines governance but also accelerates economic decline and weakens investor confidence.
With investors and policymakers set to gather at the green economy summit, business leaders argue that the State of the Nation Address represents a pivotal opportunity to demonstrate that South Africa is ready to shift from policy discussions to coordinated delivery, and position itself as a credible leader in Africa’s sustainable growth transition.
